Woodstock, or at least the Star Spangled Banner/Purple Haze/ Instrumental Solo part was released in Hendrix's lifetime, so it has some authenticity that the large amounts of posthumous dross do not.

The tracks released on the original Woodstock albums are by far the best here, and to be honest they sit far better on the single disc CD "Woodstock" prepared by the much maligned Alan Douglas than the later "family" version which features far too much loose jamming.

The truth is 2 CDs of this concert is just too much. As Hendrix voices throughout the concert, they have not rehearsed much.

So the Star Spangled Banner section is one of rock's greatest ever moments, the other originally release tracks Izabella/Beginnings & Gettin' My Heart Back Together are very, very good. Voodoo Chile, Red House & Fire make a great single disc.

Woodstock, or at least the Star Spangled Banner/Purple Haze/ Instrumental Solo part was released in Hendrix's lifetime, so it has some authenticity that the large amounts of posthumous dross do not.

The tracks released on the original Woodstock albums are by far the best here, and to be honest they sit far better on the single disc CD "Woodstock" prepared by the much maligned Alan Douglas a couple of years earlier.

The truth is 2 CDs of this concert is just too much. As Hendrix voices throughout the concert, they have not rehearsed much and are jamming.

So the Star Spangled Banner section is one of rock's greatest ever moments, the other originally release tracks Izabella/Beginnings & Gettin' My Heart Back Together are very good. Only Voodoo Chile reaches these heights.

Although the sparce sleeve notes give you no clue, this is a gig by the Jack Bruce Band from 1980 featuring Billy Cobham, Clem Clempson & David Sancious. Not only was this Bruce's best ever solo band, but this is their very best official recorded gig.

Originally a New York radio FM show from the Bottom Line club in March 1980 , it has been previously available as a semi-official bootleg from Germany, but this release, from the rare classic rock label IMV/Blueline label, is totally superior. Sound quality is superb, so they must have used the mastertapes from the radio station. The highlight is the only live version of Jet Set Jewel, but all songs are excellent.

The two bonus encores (Yes Sunshine of Your Love again!) are from Jack's Donnington Festival gig with Uli Jon Roth in 2001. Already available, they are fine versions, but add nothing to the Bottom Line gig.The 1980 set should be listened in conjunction with the then current Bruce studio album I've Always wanted to do This, now reissiued by Cherry Red.

Eddie Henderson was the great, and I use the word advisedly, trumpet player with Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi band. These 2 albums on one CD feature that legendary band and with tracks written by Henderson, Herbie Hancock & Bennie Maupin these 2 albums can be considered as part of the Mwandishi legacy.

Realization from 1973 is a Mwandishi "live" in the studio outing and gives a taste of what a 1973 gig would have been like. Inside out from from 1974 is , in effect, the final Mwandishi album as it was recorded and released after sextant. Both are well upto the, very high, standard of the 3 "official" albums.

Where the later Headhunters line up hit the funk button full on, Mwandishi produced a more thoughtful jazz fusion, moving on from Miles Davis's Bitches Brew and taking it into a far more fruitful area than Mile's own On the Corner debacle.

With hindsight perhaps the greatest of the fusion bands, in the truest sense of the word.

First let me say of the four classic Stones albums, Exile was always my least favourite. On vinyl, even with a high end hi fi system, the sound was so muddy as to detract from the musical content.

So to the first disc, the remaster. Where the 90s master was clearer than the 70s vinyl, it was lightweight. This latest mastering is clearer still, but with that added bass weight. Infact for the first time you can follow the basslines! A huge improvement, and for those who can hear more hiss on some tracks, of course you can - clarity exposes those imperfect analogue tapes as well! My own view is it would have been better still if remixed like Mick has mentioned doing in the past. (compare the detail and weight of the newly mixed alternate Loving Cup from disc 2 with the original)

And so to disc 2, and yes 3 of the songs;Pass the Wine, Plunder My Soul and Follow the River are as good as anything on the original album. The 2 alternate takes are on because they surpass the originals. (Likewise the alternate All Down the Line is not on as its inferior to the original) The other outtakes are worthy of release, even the instrumental jam Title 5 is far more interesting than the Ventilator Blues/I Just want to see his Face jam/medley , which was the only weak spot of the original album.

In my view still a less coherent album than either Let it Bleed or Sticky Fingers, but one of the 4 essential Stones albums to own, and this is by some margin the best version of Exile to listen to

This great selection of singles covers The Wailers from leaving Lee Scratch Perry's Upsetter label in 1971 and before their first Island album, Catch a Fire,in 1973.

Satisfy My Soul, Trenchtown Rock, Lively Up Yourself, Sun is Shining are just some of the songs that would become household names in the following decade.

The sound is occasionally raw as the master tapes have been lost for one or two tracks and are taken from the original vinyl, but they do sound noticeably superior to The Island Singles Collection, which suffered from too much noise reduction giving an unattractive dull sound. Also included are 5 rare DJ Versions as bonus tracks.

Buy this with the 2CD Best of the Early Singles (The Perry productions)and The Ammunition Dub B Sides Cd to collect Bob's great pre Island singles.

The Wailers Soul Revolution was the final Jamaican album before worldwide exposure with Island records & Catch A Fire.Here the 2 tracks from the original mono release ( the vocal channel & the rythmn channel) have been expanded into a full stereo production by the use of Lee Perry's dub versions of each song being added as 2 further tracks. These 4 tracks have then been remixed into a modern stereo picture.

Its production values are now on a par with the original Jamaican mix of Catch a Fire, and will be far more acceptable for modern ears. Of course go for the original mono mix if you prefer, but this is the one to start with if you want to hear Bob before world wide fame